Dispassion
by Tig Jones
Summary: How weak of the heir, he would think dispassionately (surely such a young boy should not be dispassionate at all)... [Neji Hinata]


Dispassion

He played with the ends of her long dark hair, spread across his chest onto the bed beneath him. It was a smooth as ink, a liquid blue that flowed through his fingers.

He remembered her as a little girl, sitting beside her father in a council meeting, her head ducked as low as possible, that dark blue curtain hiding her face. It was after her mother had died, and her sister had begun her training, which merely highlighted her own lack of skill. Even when no one was around, and he would watch her from a distance, her hair had been down, obscuring her pale face from view.

How weak of the heir, he would think dispassionately (surely such a young boy should not be dispassionate at all), and wondered why fate was so cruel.

He also remembered the day when her hair had been cut short, cropped close to her head in an ill-looking cut.

A punishment, her father had said.

It was unbefitting of a Hyuuga to act in such a manner as she did, using a Hyuuga tradition as a shield. Until she learned to stand up proud, she would not be a Hyuuga in that aspect. Just another failure heaped upon her. Just another way she did not live up to the Hyuuga name.

He would watch her, when her father was not around, as the other Hyuugas would sneer at her.

How shameful, they would whisper loudly behind their hands, that the heir must look like _that_. Just another example of her inadequacy, they agreed.

He would watch her away from the house. In the village, when people would wonder aloud when that shy Hyuuga girl didn't have long hair like the rest of them.

How strange, they would say, that she would look so _different_.

He would watch her, as she hunched her shoulders and tried to hide from these words. Only belatedly would she realized that her hair was gone, and she would raised a tiny hand to touch a lock of hair that hung near her ears, before moving that hand back to her side, a look of pathetic acceptance on her face.

Her father had taken away her defense, leading to the finger-poking fidgeting she suffered from in her early teen years. Everyone was well aware of how painfully shy she was.

Still, what did he care, he would think dispassionately (only slightly more acceptable now that he was older), she was still the heir and she was still weak.

Then she changed. She rejected. At sixteen she finally became a chounin, after working under his tutelage (she had no choice in the matter). While it was not an impressive accomplishment (he himself achieved that when he was two years younger), it gave her the confidence she needed. Her pride allowed her to hold her head high one and a while.

Then he changed. He accepted. At seventeen he finally grew and learned and felt, under her companionship (he had no choice in the matter). While it was not an impressive accomplishment (more people were naturally compassionate), it was solely because of that girl, and her stubbornness, and her stupid haircut. His pride allowed him to rest his neck once and a while.

And slowly her hair began to grow.

And slowly, Hinata began to grow.

He blinked as she stirred – he could feel her eyelashes flicker on his chest. She turned her head until their eyes met. There was a pink in her cheeks and a shine in her eyes that had not always been there and he knew they were just for him. He still had his fingers entwined in her hair, and she reached up and grabbed a lock of his own brown hair that lay unbound on his shoulder.

"I used to be jealous of your hair," she whispered, each word a kiss on his skin.

"I used to be jealous of you," he replied, the rumbling in his chest leading her to sit up, a sheet pulled loosely around her body.

She giggled and pulled the hand still in her hair to her cheek and held it there.

"I think I had more justification."

Neji just raised an eyebrow and smirked at her, knowing that she couldn't stand his smirks and that she would soon try to kiss it off his face.

And he found that he couldn't think dispassionately about her anymore.

* * *

Author's note

I just wanted to find some sort of explanation while all the other Hyuugas had long hair and Hinata didn't, and where better than in a piece of fluff?

I love the Hinata-Neji pairing. It may be that it's fun to turn Neji's feeling toward her into something romantic, especially since Hinata's so sweet, despite her stupid haircut. Has anyone else noticed that a lot of fanfictions try to make her hair longer?

My first Naruto fic, most likely not my last.

- Tig Jones (Feb 7/05 – one hour)


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